Photos

Uganda Museum 2

Uganda Museum 1

Nyero Rock Paintings, Uganda 2

Nyero Rock Paintings, Uganda 1

Centenary 2

Entrance to African Worlds, Horniman

African Worlds 1

African Worlds 2

Centenary 1

Centenary Gallery Evolution

African Worlds

Centenary Gallery

benin bronzes 1

benin bronzes 2

Early Horniman

Midnight Robbers

Spanish Torture Chair Horniman

Surrey House Museum

The Body Adorned

Centenary Gallery Curiosities

Body Adorned 1

1000 shilling

African Worlds 3

African Worlds 4

African Worlds 5

African Worlds 6

African Worlds 7

African Worlds 8

African Worlds 9

African Worlds 10

African Worlds 11

African Worlds 12

African Worlds 13

African Worlds 14

African Worlds 15

African Worlds 16

African Worlds 17

African Worlds 18

African Worlds 19

African Worlds 20

African Worlds 21

African Worlds 22

Afrika Museum

Benin bronzes british museum

Body Adorned 2

Cultures of Collecting 5

Luzira Head, Uganda

Music 1

Music 2

Music 3

Music 4

Music 5

Music 6

Music 7

Re-visions 1

Re-visions 2

Re-visions 3

Re-visions 4

Re-visions 5

Re-visions 6

Re-visions 7

Re-visions 8

Re-visions 9

Re-visions 10

Re-visions 11

Re-visions 12

Re-visions 13

Re-visions 14

Re-visions 15

Reinventing Africa 1

Reinventing Africa 2

Reinventing Africa 6

Reinventing Africa 9

Reinventing Africa 10

Reinventing Africa 11

Reinventing Africa 12

Reinventing Africa 13

Reinventing Africa 14

Reinventing Africa 15

Reinventing Africa 16

Reinventing Africa 17

 

Museums and Exhibitions

Afrika Museum, Nijmegen, Netherlands

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol

Freud Museum, London

Horniman Museum and Gardens, London

Igongo Cultural Centre, Mbarara, Uganda

Kafou: Haiti, Art and Vodou, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham

Pallant House Gallery, Chichester

The Body Adorned: Dressing London, Horniman Museum and Gardens, London

The British Museum, London

The Holburne Museum, Bath

Tribal: An exhibition of Tribal and contemporary art, The Post Modern, Swindon

Uganda Museum, Kampala, Uganda

Websites

http://www.clothofgold.org.uk

http://www.csrthomas.com

http://www.flickr.com

http://www.horniman.ac.uk

http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk

http://www.insider-london.co.uk

http://www.itzcaribbean.com

http://www.modernghana.com

http://www.youtube.com

Journals

Arnoldi, Mary Jo. “Thinking Through and With African Objects: Perspectives on the Study of African Material Culture” in Reviews in Anthropology, Vol. 29, pp. 31-53

 

Author Unknown. “The Horniman Museum” in The Library, 1898, pp. 262-263

 

Banks, Tom. “The Light Surgeons work on Horniman Museum exhibition” in Design Week (Online Edition), 2/9/2012

 

Burrows, Trevor. “Museum stages young aged events, Horniman Museum Youth Panel, Forest Hill, south east London” in Children & Young People Now, 28 June-11 July 2011, pp. 18-19

 

Catalani, Anna. “Displaying Traditional Yoruba Religious Objects in Museums: The Western Re-Making of a Cultural Heritage” in Library Trends, Summer 2007, pp. 66-79

 

Croucher, Sarah and Wynne-Jones, Stephanie. “People, Not Pots: Locally Produced Ceramics and Identity on the Nineteenth-Century East African Coast” in International Journal of African Historical Studies,  39,1 (2006), pp. 107-124

 

Da Silva, Neysela. “Religious displays: an observational study with a focus on the Horniman Museum” in Material Religion, volume 6, issue 2, pp. 166-191

 

Gosling, Emily. “Hat-Trick Design rebrands Horniman Museum” in Design Week (Online Edition), 6/1/2012

 

Kimmelman, Michael. “A Heart of Darkness in the City of Light” in The New York Times, July 2, 2006

 

Komlosy, Anouska. “Amazon to Caribbean, Early peoples of the rainforest, Horniman Museum” in Anthropology Today, Vol. 21, No. 6, December 2005, p. 22

 

Leonard, Marion. “Constructing histories through material culture: popular music, museums and collecting” in Popular Music History, pp. 147-167

 

Peek, Philip. “African Worlds, Horniman Museum, London” in African Arts, Summer 2006, pp. 68-73

 

Peek, Philip. “Art of the Cross River” in African Arts, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Nov., 1985), p. 77

 

Phillips, Ruth B. “Where Is “Africa”? Re-Viewing Art and Artifact in the Age of Globalization The Sainsbury African Galleries; African Worlds; African Voices” in American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 104, No. 3 (Sep., 2002), pp. 944-952

 

Picton, John. “Yoruba: A Celebration of African Art” in African Arts, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan., 1992), pp. 82-85

 

Reeve, John. “Material religion, education, and museums: introduction” in Material Religion, volume 6, issue 2, pp. 142-155

 

Scott, Monique. “Writing the History of Humanity: The Role of Museums in Defining Origins and Ancestors in a Transnational World” in Curator, 00113069, January 2005, Vol. 48, Issue 1

 

Smith, Dan. “Evolution and culture; the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford” in Things, 14, Summer 2001

 

Stewart, Madeau. “Jean Jenkins: From the Horniman to the British Museum?” in Early Music, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Jan., 1979), p. 11

 

Vitmayer, Janet. “Music at the Horniman Museum” in History Today, October 2002, pp. 6-7

 

Vowles, Valerie. “African Art at the Horniman Museum, London” in African Arts, Vol. 14, No. 3 (May, 1981), pp. 66-68

Bibliography

Arero, Hassan, and Zachary Kingdon, . East Afican Contours, Reviewing Creativity and Visual Culture. The Horniman Museum and Gardens, 2005.

A collection of essays on East African material culture, produced by the Horniman Museum and Gardens

Arnaut, Karel, ed. Re-Visions, New Perspectives on the African Collections of the Horniman Museum. The Horniman Museum and Gardens, 2000.

A collection of essays on the fieldwork carried out in preparation for the new African Worlds gallery at the Horniman Museum and Gardens

Barringer, Tim, and Tom Flynn, . Colonialism and the Object – Empire, material culture and the museum. Routledge, 1998.

A collection of essays discussing the influences of colonialism on material culture

Beier, Ulli. “The Story of Sacred Wood Carvings from one small Yoruba town.” Nigeria Magazine, 1957.

A study of the material culture in the Yoruba town of Ilobu in Western Nigeria

Clifford, James. The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-Century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Harvard University Press, 1988.

A look at the changing attitude to world cultures during the Twentieth Century

Cooke, Lynne. “In Lieu of Higher Ground.” In What Makes a Great Exhibition?, by Paula Marincola. Philadelphia Exhibitions Iniative, 2006.

A look at the changing relationships between the artist and the curator

Coombes, Annie E. Reinventing Africa: Museums, Material Culture and Popular Imagination in Late Victorian and Edwardian England. Yale University Press, 1997.

A look at the Colonial influences on the western view of Africa

Coote, Jeremy, and Anthony Shelton, . Anthropology Art and Aesthetics. Oxford University Press, 1992.

A selection of anthropological studies of the art of the ‘primitive’ world

Fagg, William, and Margaret Plass. African Sculpture : an Anthology. Studio Vista Limited, 1964.

A study of African art by William Fagg, former curator at the British Museum

Goldwater, Robert. Primitivism in Modern Art. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1986.

A look at the influences of ‘primitive’ art on modern western art

Hiller, Susan. The Myth of Primitivism: Perspectives on Art. Routledge, 1991.

A selection of essays looking at what has formed the western view of ‘primitivism’

Karp, Ivan, and Steven D Lavine, . Exhibiting Cultures, The Poetics and Politics of Museum Display. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991.

A selection of essays looking at the role of museums in representing world cultures

Lubar, Steven, and W David Kingery, . History from Things – Essays on Material Culture. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.

A collection of papers looking at the importance of material culture, from the conference “History from Things: The Use of Objects in Understanding the Past” held at the Smithsonian in April 1989

Marstine, Janet. “Introduction.” In New Museum Theory and Practice, An Introduction, edited by Janet Marstine. Blackwell Publishing, 2006.

A paper that discusses the role of museums in providing national identity, also providing authority and authenticity

Monti, Franco. African Masks. Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited, 1969.

A study of masks from around Africa, concerntarating on West and Central Africa

Pearce, Susan M. Collecting in Contemporary Practice. Sage Publications, 1998.

A look at the Contemporary Collecting in Britain Survey conducted by the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester in 1993

Pearce, Susan M, ed. Museum Studies in Material Culture. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991.

A study of the importance of material culture to museums

Pennie, Michael. African Assortment: African Art in Museums in England and Scotland. Bath College of Higher Education Press, 1991.

A look at the African art that is on display in museums in England and Scotland

—. Some sculptors and African Art. Bristol Museum and Art Gallery and Artworth, 1995.

A study of the influences of African art on western sculpture

Phillips, Ruth B, and Christopher B Steiner, . Unpacking Culture, Art and Commodity in Colonial and Postcolonial Worlds. University of California Press Ltd, 1999.

A collection of essays showing how art of the colonised has become a commodity through tourist art in Africa, Oceania and North America

Rubin, William, ed. Primitivism in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern. Vol. II. Museum of Modern Art, 1984.

Volume 2 of a selection of essays relating to the ‘primitive’ influences on modern western art, produced for the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition Primitivism in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern

Rubin, William, ed. Primitivism in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern. Vol. I. Museum of Modern Art, 1984.

Volume 1 of a selection of essays relating to the ‘primitive’ influences on modern western art, produced for the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition Primitivism in 20th Century Art: Affinity of the Tribal and the Modern

Simpson, Moira G. Making Representations, Museums in the Post-Colonial Era. Revised Edition. Routledge, 2001.

A look at how museums have tried to alter their representation of former colonies

Stewart, Susan. On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection. Duke University Press, 1993.

A look at everyday objects and how they shape the world

Trowell, Margaret, and K P Wachsmann. Tribal Crafts of Uganda. Oxford University Press, 1953.

A study of the crafts of Uganda by each tribal group, produced by Margaret Trowell, curator of the Uganda Museum, Kampala

Bibliography

Aristides, N. “Calm and Uncollected.” American Scholar, 57, 3, 1988.

A scholarly paper that discusses some of the influences on collectors

Blair St. George, Robert (Ed). Material Life in America 1600-1860. Northeastern University Press, 1988.

A selection of papers looking at material culture in America 1600-1860

Douglas, Mary and Isherwood, Baron. The World of Goods – towards an anthropology of consumption. Routledge, 1996.

A study by an anthropologist and an economist on the desire to acquire and consume objects

Elsner, John and Cardinal, Roger (Eds). The Cultures of Collecting. Reaktion Books, 1994.

A collection of papers looking at the history of collecting, studying individual collectors and the motivations of collectors

Freud, Sigmund. The Essentials of Psycho-Analysis. Penguin Books, 1991.

A collection of Sigmund Freud’s writings on psycho-analysis

Lubar, Steven and Kingery, W. David (Eds). History from Things – Essays on Material Culture. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.

A collection of papers looking at the importance of material culture, from the conference “History from Things: The Use of Objects in Understanding the Past” held at the Smithsonian in April 1989

Miller, Daniel. The Comfort of Things. Polity Press, 2009. .

An anthropological study of a London street on how the things people own define who they are

Pearce, Susan M (Ed). Museum Studies in Material Culture. Leicester University Press, 1991.

A study of the importance of material culture to museums

Pearce, Susan M. Collecting in Contemporary Practice. Sage Publications, 1998.

A look at the Contemporary Collecting in Britain Survey conducted by the Department of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester in 1993

Stewart, Susan. On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection. Duke University Press, 1993.

A look at everyday objects and how they shape the world

Veblen, Thorstein. The Theory of the Leisure Class. George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1957.

An economist’s study of the influence of consumerism

Winnicott, D. “Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena.” In Psychoanalysis and Gender: An Introductory Reader, by Rosalind Minsky. Routledge, 1996.

A study of the role of transitional objects in the development of the infant’s ability to separate from their mother and become independent

Figures

1                     One of the bookshelves of the collector

2                     An empty DVD box of the Doctor Who episode Marco Polo

3                     Complete set of James Bond DVDs

4                     TVR club mugs

5                     The “brass monstrosities”

6                     The owner of more than thirty shirts, wearing the shirt of his team Real Sociadad and holding a book in Basque

 

Non Collector Interview Transcript

How many DVDs do you have?

Roughly 100, not something I buy loads of, just films I can watch again & again

Have you watched them before buying?

Yes watch them first

How long

99 when I bought 1^st DVD player came with pulp fiction, choice of 3 or 4 chose pulp fiction

Videos before that?

No, just had a few from my brother

When DVDs decided to collect

What prompted to collect DVDs than videos?

Quality better, last longer. Just looking round shops & if see a good film

Childhood collections?

No, bits of toys but no collections. Quite a few small cars, just to play with not a collection

Things from holidays, beach, stones,

No

Encouraged at school?

No

Family collectors?

Never thought about it, nothing springs to mind

No influences of collectors?

No

Do you have a view of collectors?

If people want to collect, no reason why not. Not given much thought. Hobby, enjoy looking at collections if they consider it a collection

Collectors clubs, TVR club?

No, don’t see the TVR as a collection, just a great classic car. Not a collector’s club just appreciation of TVR. Car club in queens square. Bring classic cars, friendly get together to discuss cars, hopefully get TVR down

Are people at the clubs collectors?

Don’t know them that well

& the TVR club?

Largest gathering of wedge owners, other clubs cover different types

Museums?

If on holiday, local museum have a wander round, Paris art galleries. Don’t go in Bristol frequently. Good few years since I last went. Science museum been a few times but not in a couple of years

Museum types

Science & tech as opposed to art gallery, but depends. Di Vinci exhibition in national gallery of portraits, like to see his drawings, not fussed about the portraits

They are coming to Bristol

Interested in seeing them

Why technology

Because I’m interested in tech, see advances in technology. Advent of computers changed things massively. Prefer to art, find technology more interesting

Do you relate to it more?

Yes, hands on exhibitions like @ Bristol, how it’s developed, design manufacture

How do you acquire DVDs?

Purchase and presents. Purchases from a shop

Do you know what you want?

Yes usually have an idea, sometimes browse. People don’t know what you’ve got, so more likely to give a voucher

Do you have favourites?

No, not really. Not special editions. Genres action, sci-fi are favourite but other good ones as well

Do you sort or sell

No, just in case I want to watch it again. Once it’s bought its there

Part of sets?

Box sets, some bought separately to make a set

Is it important to have the set?

Depends what set, aliens wanted the box set, fast & furious haven’t bought a couple not fussed, might if find them cheap

Small pull to complete the set

Yes, if I found them in a bargain bucket

What is the main motivation?

Wouldn’t say I had one, just something that started & carried on. No motive, haven’t bought one for years. Member of love film and watch them

How does it work?

Stream, but I’ve signed up with the postal version. They send you watch & when you send back they send the next one

Have you bought based on what you’ve watched?

No

Could you

Possible if it was really good film

What do you think is the difference between a collection and accumulation?

Collection is stuff you would look after & to complete sets, stuff accumulated can’t throw out, might have a use. Might be a hoarder, never really thought about

Computer parts, how many do you have?

No real idea

Stored in boxes, do you look at them?

Not really, stuff that still works. If I have a use I might look through to find something useful. Just old bits that might have a use

How many years?

Tricky, properly got in to computers about 12 years, interested all my life since seeing my brother on his as a kid. Started accumulating about 8 or 9

Still building

Yes, I’m running out of space

Did you accumulate as a child?

Only the obvious toys, Lego, nothing else

Other family members

No, not that I remember

Why do you keep them?

Updated to replace something I’ve got, make it faster, not something wrong with the part. If not broken it might come in handy, don’t like to throw out for the sake of throwing out

Do you search out specific items or just to upgrade your computer?

A bit of both, if after something specific then search it out

Would you ever get something you don’t need?

Probably not, need a use before buying it

What if they gave it?

Might be tempted, free would play a large part. But probably wouldn’t unless I needed it

What is in the collection?

CD rom drive, power supplies, fans, cables, leads, keyboards, mice etc. got probably at least one of everything

You wouldn’t want to have a series?

No, but do have an original Pentium, somebody might regard it as a fossil

Are you a member of clubs?

No

Do you keep info?

Wouldn’t necessarily say so. Just look on the internet & previous experience. No records or lists of what’s available. Just see what’s about

Is there anything important, e.g. the 1^st Pentium?

Not really, wouldn’t like it to go missing, but nothing I would lose sleep about

Do they trigger memories?

Possibly, can’t bring any to mind. Old Pentium chip can remember buying & thinking it was the fastest thing ever, but now realise it was a snail. Not really look through & bring back memories

Do you know any collectors of computer parts? Have you come across any collectors?

No, I know people who keep old bits that might come in handy. Want to visit the Bletchley Park which is the national computer with the room size enigma computer. Only collection I know of

What else do they have?

All original computers some had strips of paper that it read data off, 2 or 3 from early 40s. Not really sure, national museum for computers, but must have a good collection. Not sure if they have modern

Are any computers nostalgic to you?

No, games consoles, 1^st was a megadrive. Might bring back memories, but wouldn’t be too bothered

Could be a collection in the future? Who would they make the transition?

Age, might be rare because they’ve been thrown out when not needed. Don’t know if that point would come. Look at it & think, I’ve not seen that before. Because it’s moving quickly it might hold feelings for somebody. Everyone alive now has grown up with a computer, in a few years it might look backward. Kids might see what they have as normal where we have grown up with the advent of computers, will create interest to some people

Like Victorian mills

Yes, part of our heritage. They wouldn’t have though back then that a button click would produce more than they did. Inventor of the internet is still alive, but kids see it as normal. 20 years ago it wasn’t

Who?

Tim burners lee, not sure where he was based, back in the early 90s

Was it FBI?

Now I think it was a uni, not sure. Just to see if they could send data between 2 PCs not in the same building. Just a transition of info. Developed from there, don’t think it was military. Just people wondering if it could be done, but unsure, have to look into it

Anything you want to add?

No, don’t really regard myself as a collector

Why did you put yes

Just to fill out, if I ticked no I couldn’t fill it in. Trying to think of things I collected. Have you thought of anything else? TVR?

Just something I’m interested in, just 1. If I had 5 or 6 could call it collection. If I won the lottery I would have a collection

How many cars define a collection?

I know somebody with 6 TVRs, seen pictures & thought that’s a good collection

Are there TVR things at the club?

I’ve got polo shirts, glass tanker, a mug with a TVR on it, a couple of stickers, sell stuff, but not a big part of the club. Just to remember the day not really to remember the TVR. Availability now the factories closed, end of the original sports cars. Last of Britain’s sports cars might have helped it become a collectors it3m. Mass produced wouldn’t be a collection

Other cars

TVRs would be the 1^st I’d but, love American muscle cars, Lambos. Jay leno collecting. Dukes of hazard, knightrider, BA’s van

Are there any collections of other people that you are interested in that friends have?

Couple of people Dr who superb collection, not many people with a k9. Friend in London with CD collection approaching 1000, DVDs not far behind. Collects games & consoles buys them and never clears out, house full. Could probably tell you all info about them

Why

His hobby, wanted to be a computer game designer. Had been doing it for years when I met him so don’t know what started it. Master system I think he has every game. Xbox has loads. Doesn’t do 2^nd hand, except the proper collector’s items, only a handful in existence he has them. Showed to me at the weekend. Wouldn’t let it out of his sight. Those the 2 most interesting, can’t think of any others. Mate at uni collected comic books, never been in to it myself so didn’t have an interest. Thinking why would you want to collect comic books

Collector Interview Transcript

How many collections do you have?

Man u & doctor who. Others like books or films, couldn’t see them in the category. If other things other than books & films

How many

Over 100 DVDs & books, toys don’t know. Twice as many books than DVDs. Bag of figures, corgi replicas

Different series/toymakers

Original up there on the shelf, box with figures for every doctor, full size k9 in the loft

When

1^st book in 1981, 31 yrs

Still collecting

Get latest DVD yesterday

Started in childhood, any other collections?

Stamps, nothing else specific. Dr who started with 1, 1 for Xmas, 10 from gran spiralled from there

Other family member

No not really, dad was a hoarder, not a collector just couldn’t throw things away

What type of things

Things that might be useful e.g. electrical connectors, bag of bolts

What about now, within the household

No

No other collectors

Yes, other Dr who collectors, source of rough video copies

Is it a collectors club?

No, but he’s a member of the appreciation society

How did you meet him?

In a book shop looking for books, he rang me the girl in the shop was his mate & had put him in contact saying he’s another of those nutters you might want to get in touch

When?

Probably 1989

Are you interested in museums?

Been to a few, don’t go that often

Which

Art galleries, Egyptian, dinosaurs, technology, car museum

Any influence on you collecting

No, totally separate

What do you think of non collectors?

Not thought about it, people can do what you want

What was the 1^st?

An unearthly child, just luck that it was the 1^st broadcasted. Next was a Xmas present, Armageddon Factor

Where in the series

A good 80 stories in

Was it a new one?

Yes, probably being released around then, Next 10 just those randomly released at the time

From then were you building from that that?

Books released randomly, have a book on the target books. Explains the different books and when they were released. Collected as released

How did you find them?

Initially looking in book stores, then produced sheets of new releases

Those already released, what about them

Looked about bookstores, ordered, swapped with children at school for star wars figures

Did you have a priority?

I was buying as released and those I didn’t have. My friend helped me find the last 6

When was the book collection completed?

About 1990, brought up to date, only 9 years but felt longer. April 94 the last book. 3 never release, one being published this month, getting 1^st new book in a long time

How do you find out?

Dr who online

What came after the books?

Videos for a bit, about 15, swapped to DVDs when they started.

What happened to the videos?

Gave them to somebody, just have a few left. Big boxes, special editions

A collector?

No, just somebody who had an interest

What about the figures?

Randomly post 2000

Is there a series to fill?

Just but ones that interest me

Do you know how many there are, info on them

No, not as much interest

How did the collection branch out, other series

Because of the way Dr who went, difficult to find the set. Now buy sets Agatha Christie, terry pratchet, James bond, inspector Morse, Charles dickens

How many Blake seven

Just the 4 box set and couple of the liberator toys. Like the spaceship, appealing shape, liked as a child

Others considered a collection

Carry on, James bond, box sets – good life, yes prime minister & man u

Is there a difference between Dr who & rest

Yes, reason they are on a different shelf. Dr who ordered as it’s released, the rest just as I come across it, down on the priority

Any approaching the status of Dr who

No, but maybe the James bond with photograph cards

Have you the books

Yes, on the shelf there. The originals & one new one I don’t like. These photographs & cards came with each one kept in a folder. Design sets for the films, this from moonraker

Anything like this from Dr who

No, but these annuals from when I was little & autobiographies of the doctors like Patrick Trouton, tom baker, Elizabeth Sladen. Where the cross over is with the man u collection

How many items in the man u collection?

Probably less than 100, if you count magazines over 100, also Dr who magazines. Also champions league scarves, a few that aren’t but mainly champions league

When did it start?

1^st shirt in 89 the day that they demolished arsenal 4-1, arsenal were the champions, think it was Neil webs debut, bought the shirt after the match in Gloucester

A similar date to when the Dr who collection was finished, is there a connection?

Possibly, the Dr who finished, TV programme had finished probably got more into the football

What about when Dr who started again, did it have the opposite effect

No, both ran in parallel then

When did they become a collection?

Dr who when it became 10-15 books and started trying to complete the set, with man u it just gradually built up the odd magazine, shirt then the new season shirt comes out & might by that, season review DVD, scarves when going up to watch a match, collection just sneaks up on you

No point sticks in your mind as having a collection, just a gradual transition

Yes

The 1^st shirt in man u collection, what followed?

Probably magazines, might have bought a scarf. The odd magazine here & there

What about programmes

The initial ones I’ve got either from a game I went to see or a mate who lived that end of the country who would send them when he went to see them

Now?

Delivered

How many

About 6 season’s worth

Do you keep them?

Yes cluttering up the underneath of the bed

Which are the most important in the Dr who collection

The books, collected those first, the most missed if they went missing

Any in particular

No, the collection as a whole

What about the man u collection?

Probably the shirts

A favourite shirt

Treble winners embroidered around the badge

How many

Over 20, in a drawer

Are they the 3 strips from each season?

No, tend to buy 1 from each season, sometimes the away sometimes the home

Have you the one Fergie didn’t like

No, I didn’t like the gray one they swapped because they couldn’t see each other with the blue & white which I have

Do you sort & rearrange

No, I used to.

Research

Only on internet, missing episodes of Dr who & when DVDs are being released kept in a spreadsheet

Catalogue, did it start on paper

Yes, write on paper the episodes & tick of the ones I head, then computers came along

What is on the catalogue?

Just books & DVDs

What info

Title, which doctor, whether I have a book or DVD & quality, which episodes exist in the archives. Not all exist

Do you have prices, when

No, but I tend to keep the delivery receipt in the DVD box which shows when & how much. But don’t have that info for the books

But not in your spreadsheet

No

What do you think your motivations are? Starting Initially?

Really into doctor who & wanted them, now it’s more because I’ve started so I’ll finish

Same with man u

Found the shirts useful, play 5 a side, DVDs playback, magazines don’t bother collecting anymore. Scarves is a started so I’ll finish job, I don’t wear scarves

When did the scarves start? First champions league match?

Might not have been the 1^st, possibly 2^nd or 3^rd brought randomly. Liked because it had both teams names on it, after that make a point of buying it

Do you look at items in your collection e.g. shirts, scarves, programs

Scarves occasionally get out to have a look, shirts pull out to wear

Any you wouldn’t wear

Blue furry one because it collects hair & is warm to wear,

When from

Mid 90s

Don’t not wear for sentimental reasons

No just practical

Everything in your collections useable

Yes, all can be used

How does it feel when you have a set?

Good, a bit of a buzz. Enid Blyton DVD looking for ages, when I found it I was happy even though it was German version

Will you look for English?

No happy with that

Other items you must have?

No, because the collection is complete, others not based on the TV series

Do you collect those?

No, have some but don’t want to collect them all

Glad you started

Yes, I think so, like to watch

Negatives?

Being able to afford, could possibly spend the money in a better way. Possibly space

Positives

Nice to see it all there. Agatha Christie book for example look nice

Some collected because of how they look

Yes, Agatha Christie could have picked several liked the look of these and they looked like the 1930s original

Design on James bond movies

Incentive to buy all in the set, not to buy that set, was just the one to be released at the time. Always liked books, slept on a pile of books as a child.

Same age as your daughter,

Possibly a bit bigger as I was in a bed

Have you still got those?

Yes, if anywhere they would be here. Multicoloured swap shop album, favourite dinosaurs with great illustrations

Can these be used, will you let your daughter read them?

Yes

These liberators from Blake 7 had a value until they were given away free with a magazine, now not worth anything

How many have you got

3 or 4, had about 10 but lost them, taken them apart & loose parts off them

Questionnaire results summary

Sent – 43

Replies – 19

Collecting

Do you regard yourself as a collector?

Yes – 6

No – 13

How many collections do you have?

1 collection – 3 people

2 collections – 2 people

6 collections – 1 person

What do you collect?

CDs, DVDs, musical instruments, fossils, bits of old train stuff, camera gear

Owls-ornaments / jewellery / toys

Doctor Who merchandise & Man Utd merchandise

DVDs x 2 collectors

Travel Souvenirs & Programmes

How many items are there in your collections?

21-50 – 1 person

Over 100 – 5 people

How long have you collected for?

No answer – 1

10+ years – 5

Have you….

Collected on & off – 4

Constantly collected – 2

How did you come by your collections?

Purchases – 6

Presents – 5

Swapping with others – 1

Are pieces of your collections….

Actively sought – 2

Bought as and when they appear – 5

Do you research you collections?

No – 4

Yes – 2

Do you keep a record of this research?

N/A – 4

No – 1

Yes – 1

Where do you keep your collections?

Boxes – 4

Drawers/cupboards – 3

On display – 5

Who knows that you collect?

A wide range of people – 2

Family – 3

Friends – 2

Nobody – 1

Do you collect….

Just because you like them – 6

Complete sets – 1

Because they bring back memories – 1

How did your collections start?

Found one object and started from there – 4

Link to hobby / activity – 4

How important are your collections to you?

Very important – 1

Fairly important – 1

Quite important – 3

Take it or leave it – 1

Do you use your collections at all?

No – 1

Yes – 5

How?

Photographer, musician, like music!

Wear the jewellery

Watch DVDs, read books, etc

Watching them

Replay films / series

What will you do with them in the end?

Not given the matter any thought – 5

Pass them on to somebody – 1

Are there certain things that you keep a lot of but would not regard as a collection?

No – 1

Yes – 18

What things do you keep?

Computer games / Paper to shred!!

Postcards

Brass monstrosities inherited from the family

Shoes & photos

Books, football shirts, used to do stamps

DVDs

Antiquities (e.g pots, vases etc more than 1000 years old)

Art

CDs

Books that I might need for teaching, Books of my own, Jars that I might need if I make Jam, DVDs, CDs, Games ( less than 20)

Keyboards / Music related items / Sentimental items (gifts / presents)

Books & DVDs

Computer Parts

Magazines, CD’s, books, DVD’s, photos

Things of sentimental value

Comics & magazines

CDs & comic books

Books, CDs, DVDs, computer games, wires, batteries, sentimental items

How many items?

1-10 – 2 people

11-20 – 2 people

21-50 – 6 people

51-100 – 2 people

Over 100 – 7 people

How long have you gathered these items for?

Less than 1 year – 1

1-5 years – 2

5-10 years – 2

10+ years – 13

Why do you keep them?

Updated / bought the latest version – 1

Hobby/interest – 11

Might be useful – 3

Can’t see going to waste – 4

Unsure – 1

Other –

Family pressure

Love them and are in good condition – may use again

I liked them

Sentimental x2

Why do you not regard them as a collection?

Not interesting to others – 1

Purely functional – 3

No value – 5

Never given it a thought – 8

Other –

I do not intentionally ‘collect’ I buy them as I like them or if I am interested in them more than a need basis but I don’t research and habitually and deliberately acquire them

Footie shirts – clothes used, books – in Basque (will pass them on, stamps – not many & not worth anything, just nice to look at, especially in the e-mail era

Entertainment

Beginning of a collection

Random objects, no theme

Because there is no defined criteria (i.e. Different music artists, different book titles, etc) and because they do not always start from the “first release” or “first issue”

Could they become a collection in the future?

No – 6

Yes – 11

Some – 1

Where do you store them?

Drawers/cupboards – 5

Boxes – 8

On display – 10

Other –

Boxes in a cupboard (with photos on the front so I know what’s inside!)

Stamps in books

Under the bed

Attic

Do you occasionally have a clear out/sale?

No – 13

Yes – 5

Interview questions

Collection

General

How many items?

How long have you collected?

Are you still collecting?

Background

What previous collecting have you done? E.g. childhood

Were other members of your family collectors when you were growing up?

Are members of your family still collectors now?

Are you interested in other people’s collection?

Why?

Collector’s clubs?

Do you visit museums?

What do you think of non-collectors?

The collection itself

How did the collection start?

How do you acquire items?

Has the definition of the collection changed?

Are there items related to your collection? Branched out

Important items in the collection?

Sorting, rearranging your collection

Research?

Motivations?

Why is the collection important/ unimportant?

Sets, how does it feel to complete a set?

Are there other items you must have?

Are you glad you collect?

What is the difference between your collection & stuff that you keep?

Keeping

General

How many items?

How long have you accumulated for?

Is the accumulation still building?

Background

As a child did family members keep certain things?

Did you keep certain things?

In you current household do people keep certain things?

Motivations

Why do you keep them?

Do you search out items?

Do you keep information on items you keep?

Do you display items?

Do you have complete sets?

Are there important items?

Do they trigger memories?

Are you happy to have kept these items?

Transition

Have items you kept become collections?

If yes, how did the definition change?

How would things you keep become a collection?